'The funniest person you could ever meet': Tributes to mother 44, whose two sons came home from a New Year's Eve night-out to discover she had been stabbed to death – as man, 49, 'in his pyjamas' is arrested

Police were called to a residential street in Bromgrove shortly before midnight

Melanie Clark was found with a suspected knife injury and later died at the scene

Neighbours say her sons returned home from party and were told of her death

A man, said to be her husband, has been arrested and is being questioned

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'At times it could be quite tense in that job, but she would always lift that tension by cracking a joke and making you laugh. She was great in that sense.

'I remember her saying that her mum died when she was very young, and her dad still lived in South Africa.

'She was quirky and bold. On my 21st, she bought me a very embarrassing present, and made me open it in front of my parents. It was absolutely hilarious, everyone was on the floor laughing. That's the sort of person she was.

Forensics officers took items from the house today after police launched a murder probe

'I'm not sure whether or not David is from South Africa, but he certainly lived there for a very long time, and they must have married there before moving to the UK.

'The boys were very friendly as well. They both got jobs at the first opportunity, and learnt to drive very quickly, because they both loved cars.

'She had two cats who she absolutely adored, they were like her babies, seeing as the children had grown up.

'David would keep himself to himself a bit more, but was very friendly.

'He would often be wearing a suit, and I think he was some sort of businessman, but I wasn't as close to him.'

A woman died at the scene from suspected knife injuries and a man has been arrested

Local resident Gareth Cole, 67, said: 'I was in bed at the time, there were a load of fireworks going off, and suddenly the flashes of light turned blue and there were a load of police cars outside the house.

'I saw the two boys coming back in a taxi at around 1am, it looked like they had been to a party and didn't know what had happened.

'They were led up the street by a policeman, and were only there for about 20 minutes before they were taken away.

'I saw someone being arrested afterwards, he was in very colourful pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt.'

Locals left flowers at the house today as neighbours told of their shock at the death

Another resident said: 'I saw the lads coming back in a taxi... it looked like one of them was in tears.

'It sounds like their mum has died, they were the only people that lived there, so it must have been her. It's horrendous, what's happened.'